VZCZCXRO2684
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHTC #1148/01 1421144
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221144Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5762
INFO RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAT/AMCONSUL AMSTERDAM 0841

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 THE HAGUE 001148 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/UBI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL ELAB SMIG KCRM KWMN NL
SUBJECT: DUTCH MAINTAIN LEGALIZED PROSTITUTION IS TOOL TO 
FIGHT TIP 
 
REF: (A) THE HAGUE 334 
 
     (B) THE HAGUE 829 
     (C) 05 THE HAGUE 0601 
     (D) THE HAGUE 399 
     (E) THE HAGUE 453 
     (F) THE HAGUE 913 
 
THE HAGUE 00001148  001.3 OF 005 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. In meetings with visiting G/TIP legal and 
research consultant Luke Goodrich May 8 and 9, government, 
police, and NGO representatives indicated that, overall, 
legalization of prostitution has helped municipal 
authorities fight crime, including trafficking in persons 
(TIP), in the prostitution sector, but also suggested ways 
to strengthen regulation and police controls.  Many stated 
that the number of prostitutes has not increased since 
legalization and stressed that they viewed prostitution and 
TIP as distinct issues.  Several expressed the view that the 
extent of TIP in the legalized sector was limited, but also 
acknowledged that police controls were not foolproof and 
could miss a significant number of victims.  Many also 
praised the new government-sponsored outreach campaign that 
alerts prostitutes and their clients to the signs of 
trafficking and urges them to report potential victims. End 
Summary. 
 
Local Views in Amsterdam and The Hague 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) The 2000 law that lifted the ban on brothels gave 
municipalities responsibility for regulating prostitution. 
Amsterdam city councilor Karina Schaapman and municipal 
officials responsible for regulating The Hague's licensed 
sex establishments provided a local perspective on how those 
cities handle regulation.  They asserted that legalization 
had helped both cities fight criminal activity in the 
regulated sector and reduce the number of TIP victims by 
opening a crucial window into the world of prostitution. 
They conceded that there could still be a lot of TIP victims 
within the regulated prostitution sector, but expressed much 
more concern about unregulated sectors, such as escort 
services.  They credited the Public Administration Integrity 
Act (BIBOB), which allows municipalities to check the 
criminal background of license applicants, with giving local 
governments more power over the legalized sector. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Schaapman, a former prostitute and vocal advocate 
for improved social services for prostitutes, recently 
issued a report on the Amsterdam prostitution sector, with 
recommendations for strengthening Amsterdam's prostitution 
regulatory regime.  She suggested steps the government could 
take to improve the social situation of prostitutes, help 
change the perception of women in society, and force clients 
into the legal sex sector.  She stated that the 2000 
legislation had not resulted in an increase in the number of 
TIP victims, and that the number of prostitutes and brothels 
in Amsterdam had not increased since 2000 - though there had 
been a shift in the nationality of the prostitutes. 
Schaapman stated that Amsterdam needs more police to patrol 
the red light district and that police controls should be 
conducted more frequently and more thoroughly.  She said 
that police controls sometimes rely heavily on document 
checks to determine whether prostitutes are underage or are 
illegal immigrants; she expressed concern that a TIP victim 
might go undiscovered because of convincingly forged 
documents.  However, she also lauded the police for pushing 
the boundaries of what they are legally allowed to do to 
detect TIP victims and illegal aliens working in the 
unregulated escort sector.  She said the increased focus on 
terrorism had made it harder to obtain resources for other 
police initiatives, including expanded prostitution 
controls. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Schaapman's main concern is with the unregulated 
prostitution sectors.  She welcomed the fact that Amsterdam 
is developing an escort service licensing system, as The 
Hague has already done, but noted that the city would need 
additional funding and personnel to implement the policy. 
She stressed that technology such as mobile phones and web 
cams made it easier to start a sex business, and harder for 
governments to monitor them.  She also expressed frustration 
with the prostitutes themselves, many of whom do not pay 
taxes, stating that there was a lot of money in the business 
that was not getting to the government.  She supported 
Amsterdam's decision to build a health center for 
 
THE HAGUE 00001148  002.6 OF 005 
 
 
prostitutes and a prostitution expertise center for police 
within the red light district.  She said she was pleased 
that the city had limited the red light district by 
purchasing houses located there and not allowing their use 
for window prostitution.  In response to questioning, she 
acknowledged that the red light district was a tourist 
attraction, adding that she did not approve of that. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Schaapman stressed that TIP was not a result of 
Dutch prostitution policy, but a worldwide problem that she 
believed unlikely to be eliminated.  Nevertheless, she added 
that the Dutch brothel law provided needed information to 
control the sector; if it were outlawed, she said, that 
information would be lost.  She mentioned that she had heard 
Sweden had a large illegal prostitution market where there 
is little knowledge of what happens.  She argued against 
adoption of a Swedish-style system, because it would result 
in the loss of a lot of valuable information.  She noted 
that one drawback of legalization is that when prostitution 
is legal, people conclude that it is also normal; she 
suggested it was important for the government to send the 
message that although prostitution is legal, it is not 
normal.  Schaapman said that Amsterdam and Rotterdam had 
closed their street-walking zones, as have many other 
municipalities, because of their vulnerability to 
exploitation and drug addicts.  In Amsterdam, she stated, a 
high percentage (60% in one raid) of prostitutes in the 
street-walking zones had been found to be TIP victims, while 
raids on street-walking zones in Rotterdam had not found TIP 
victims.  [Note. Amsterdam's street-walking zone was closed 
in December 2003.  End Note.] 
 
Regulation in The Hague 
----------------------- 
 
¶6. (SBU) A panel of The Hague city officials headed by Rob 
Coster, former National Police Coordinator on Trafficking 
and Prostitution and founder of The Hague police 
prostitution screening team, explained that legalization had 
allowed the city to impose strict requirements on sex 
businesses within The Hague police region, the third largest 
by population in the country.  When brothels were legalized 
in 2000, city officials capped the number of licenses for 
sex businesses at 100, the number of such establishments in 
¶1999.  Licenses are approved by the Mayor, and are valid for 
one year.  Bart Ludwig, the Mayor's policy advisor, said 
that as a result of the additional controls available under 
the BIBOB law, The Hague was now considering making licenses 
valid for two years.  Escort services are regulated under 
The Hague's licensing system.  The street-walking zone was 
recently closed. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Coster credited the 2000 law for giving The Hague 
officials the tools to reduce crime in the sex industry.  He 
said it was clear that the current approach that regulates 
prostitution was better with regard to TIP than the "closed 
system" that existed prior to 2000.  Within the first three 
months of the lifting of the ban on brothels, The Hague 
closed 10 to 20 brothels for violations of license 
requirements; they continue to close 2 to 3 every year for 
various crimes, including the presence of a minor, or of an 
illegal or trafficked worker.  Less severe violations are 
penalized with warnings or with a temporary closure of the 
establishment, usually for one or three months.  The Hague 
imposes temporary closures three to five times per year, but 
as these penalties impose a major financial burden on the 
owners, most establishments strive to remain compliant. 
Coster said that The Hague was one of the strictest cities 
in the Netherlands when it comes to enforcing regulations on 
legalized prostitution.  Other municipalities, particularly 
rural ones such as Groningen, are less experienced with 
regulating the sex industry, or are more lenient.  Coster 
suggested that The Netherlands should adopt a national 
enforcement policy to prevent criminal enterprises from 
simply relocating to areas where enforcement is weaker. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Police controls in The Hague police district are 
conducted by a specialized force comprised of 19 officers 
who receive nearly one year of training in areas such as 
document screening, identifying TIP victims, and child 
pornography.  These officers team with local police to cover 
the 16 municipalities in the district.  The police conduct 
unannounced investigations of sex establishments at all 
times of day.  Some visits are more in depth than others; 
 
THE HAGUE 00001148  003.3 OF 005 
 
 
according to Coster, police develop a feel for which 
establishments require closer scrutiny.  Inspections can 
include questioning the owner, inspecting the rooms for 
compliance with health and safety codes, interviewing the 
prostitutes and checking their documents.  If there is a 
question about the validity of a document, the officers can 
go to Schiphol airport to consult with Immigration document 
experts.  When asked about the large number of foreign-born 
prostitutes with apparently legitimate documentation, Coster 
conceded that it was possible that a large number of such 
women are potential victims.  He added that many women, 
attracted by the money they could make, knowingly pay for 
false documentation.  [Comment. As noted by other contacts, 
not all foreign-born prostitutes with false documents have 
been trafficked.  End Comment.] 
 
¶9. (SBU) According to Coster, police who conduct 
prostitution controls spend a lot of time on the street, in 
order to build trust with the prostitutes.  Immediately 
after legalization, The Hague police visited sex 
establishments every day.  Now that city officials and 
police are confident that they have very good control over 
the sector, they inspect at least once a month.  Coster said 
that the police across the country receive the same training 
on how to conduct controls, adding that he had trained them 
himself as National Police Coordinator on Trafficking and 
Prostitution.  Coster and Ludwig both felt that The Hague is 
effectively controlling the sex industry and added that some 
sex businesses, especially those in border cities, have 
moved out of The Netherlands because of the strict 
requirements they face under regulation.  Coster also 
acknowledged that legalization means the government has two 
sectors to deal with (the licensed and unlicensed) instead 
of just one illegal industry, and that the government needs 
additional capacity and alternative strategies to deal 
effectively with the unlicensed sector.  He noted that 
government failure to adequately investigate and prosecute 
violations in the unlicensed sector would result in the 
licensed sector facing unfair competition and losing the 
incentive to comply with licensing restrictions. 
 
National TIP Center Highlights Police Techniques 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶10. (SBU) Warner Ten Kate, National TIP Prosecutor, and Rene 
Nuijten, Deputy Head of the North and East Netherlands 
Police, provided an overview of the National Expertise 
Center for Human Trafficking and Smuggling (EMM), the 
interagency resource center for TIP investigations and 
prosecutions that opened in mid-2005.  Hank Werson, the head 
of the unit responsible for training police to conduct 
prostitution controls and detect trafficking victims stated 
that police nationwide are required to make surprise 
inspections of licensed operations at least six times per 
year.  Over 500 police officers have been trained to conduct 
the inspections.  He said that an interview kit had been 
developed in 2004 to train officers on appropriate methods 
to question prostitutes to gain their trust and avoid 
degrading them. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Echoing The Hague officials, Werson stressed that 
spending time on the streets to build credibility with 
prostitutes was crucial.  Werson added that the high 
mobility of some prostitutes made building trust more 
difficult.  He expressed hope that the Expertise Center's 
centralized database of police reports on potential TIP 
cases would improve coordination between police districts to 
reduce the adverse impact of mobility on investigations.  He 
stated that each time police inspect a licensed sex 
establishment, officers talk to every prostitute in the 
establishment and provide them with their business cards 
with a phone number where they can be reached at all times. 
Werson reported that he recently had accompanied The Hague 
police on brothel inspections and was present when they 
received a tip from a prostitute about a minor working in 
another club.  As a result of that tip, the police were able 
to remove the minor and close the club.  Werson attributed 
the success of the investigation to the trust built up 
between the police and the prostitute. 
 
National Victim Registrar Helps Train Police 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶12. (SBU) When police discover a TIP victim, they contact 
 
THE HAGUE 00001148  004.18 OF 005 
 
 
the Foundation Against Trafficking in Women (STV), the 
national registration office for TIP victims.  STV registers 
the victims and coordinates with a network of service 
providers to place them in appropriate shelters and provide 
social services.  STV also participates in police training 
to instruct the police on how to deal with trafficking 
victims.  Director Maria de Cock stressed that STV 
considered trafficking to be totally different from 
prostitution.  She said that STV does not request the police 
to provide information on the type of establishments (i.e., 
licensed or unlicensed) in which trafficking victims are 
found.  She said that legalization is an ongoing process, 
noting that prostitution had always been linked to criminal 
activities, and it would therefore take time to make it a 
"clean" business.  She said that the increase in the number 
of identified victims since 2000 was not necessarily an 
indication that there were more TIP victims in the country. 
Rather, she suggested, improved cooperation among police, 
government authorities and the STV since 2000 had helped to 
better identify those victims that are here. 
 
National Government Perspective 
------------------------------- 
 
¶13. (SBU) Goodrich asked officials from the Ministries of 
Justice (MOJ) and Foreign Affairs (MFA), about the ongoing 
MOJ study on the impact of the lifting of the ban on 
brothels in 2000.  MOJ Senior Policy Advisor Sasja Hulscher, 
who sits on the study steering committee, said that results 
are not yet available, but that preliminary results are 
expected by July.  She added that the committee is already 
trying to anticipate some of the findings, and proactively 
develop legislative proposals to rectify possible weaknesses 
in the current legislation. 
 
¶14. (SBU) Andre van Wiggen, Deputy Director of the MFA's 
Terrorism and New Threats division (which handles TIP 
issues) protested attempts to link prostitution with 
trafficking, stressing that the GONL considers legalization 
a domestic policy matter.  The government would continue to 
assess the policy as needed to ensure that it was working as 
intended.  Refering to the recent United Nations Office on 
Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report on global trafficking trends, 
he further stated that because the Dutch are so open and 
maintain and publish such thorough statistics, they are 
often unfairly singled out for criticism and analysis.  The 
focus, he said, should be on strengthening cooperation to 
combat TIP, citing the anti-TIP cooperation item in the 2005 
bilateral "Next Steps" law enforcement action plan as a good 
example of such cooperation. 
 
TIP Rapporteur: No Rise in TIP victims in Sex Sector 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
¶15. (SBU) Asked about municipal regulation of prostitution 
businesses, senior staff of the office of the National 
Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons stated that 
municipalities are free to keep licensed sex businesses out 
through administrative licensing policies, but not for moral 
reasons alone.  They also stated that the question of 
whether prostitution had increased or decreased as a result 
of legalization was irrelevant - if it is regulated and 
legal, the size of the prostitution sector was not a 
concern.  The Rapporteur does not report on the number of 
TIP victims identified in the legal and the illegal 
prostitution sectors; the Rapporteur relies on information 
from public prosecutors and police, who do not provide this 
information, and the Rapporteur does not specifically 
request it.  The staff noted that, from their perspective, 
the trend in trafficking within the sex industry as a whole 
was of more interest, and they have not seen a rise in that 
trend.  Referring to the rise in the number of TIP victims 
registered by STV since legalization in 2000, the Rapporteur 
staff stated that it was unclear whether this rise was due 
to the inclusion of Dutch victims in the more recent 
statistics, increased police attention to the legalized 
sector, or an actual rise in the number of victims.  [Note. 
Under Dutch TIP law, internal victims are included in TIP 
statistics. End Note.]  They stated that they are 
increasingly realizing that "numbers are relative," and that 
it is very difficult to discern actual trends from available 
statistics.  The staff stressed that all economic sectors 
are susceptible to TIP and that all should be looked at 
evenly, and they lamented the special focus that is often 
 
THE HAGUE 00001148  005.3 OF 005 
 
 
placed on prostitution. 
 
Scarlet Cord: Prostitutes Attracted by the Money 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶16. (SBU) Toos Heemskerk of the Scarlet Cord, a faith-based 
NGO that provides assistance to prostitutes, told Goodrich 
that high prices for prostitution, together with laws in the 
Netherlands make prostitution an attractive option for women 
from foreign countries who want to make lots of money in a 
short time.  The problem, according to Heemskerk, is that 
many women attracted by the money actually end up with large 
debts, and then find it very difficult to leave prostitution 
or to profit as much as they had expected.  This could be 
due to a variety of factors, such as family members at home 
that depend on the money, over-spending, taking out loans to 
get false documents, or becoming indebted to the smuggler or 
trafficker who assisted them, she said.  Heemskerk added 
that it was difficult for the police to detect those who had 
come voluntarily, but then found themselves "trapped" in 
prostitution because of debt.    Heemskerk, who has worked 
with prostitutes in the red light district of Amsterdam for 
almost 10 years, stated that she hasn't noticed any growth 
in the number of window prostitutes over that time.  She 
said she did not know whether there had been growth in sex 
clubs.  Heemskerk appreciated GONL funding of programs to 
help prostitutes get out of the business, but suggested the 
government should provide more such funding.  She echoed 
Schaapman's criticisms that too few police work in the red 
light district and that many prostitutes and brothel owners 
do not pay taxes; she suggested that the BIBOB law would 
improve the situation.  Heemskerk suggested the government 
should assist prostitutes by imposing a requirement that all 
brothel owners post a sign with a number prostitutes can 
call for help, and a requirement that each municipality 
establish a program to help prostitutes leave the sex 
industry.  She echoed the comments of several others that 
government programs like the campaign to educate clients 
about TIP and the anonymous TIP reporting line were positive 
steps. 
 
Criminologist: `Loverboys' are Pimps 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶18. (SBU) Utrecht criminologist Frank Bovenkerk told 
Goodrich that Dutch women exploited by "loverboys" are 
essentially victims of trafficking by modern-day pimps, with 
whom they have a complex, dysfunctional relationship, 
sometimes involving physical violence.  He was critical of 
police controls on the legalized prostitution sector, in 
particular their capacity for detecting "loverboys." He said 
that police have sufficient powers to take action against 
"loverboys," and suggested that a few high-profile 
prosecutions under current laws would help deter the 
phenomenon.  He added that some of the beat police who 
patrol Amsterdam's red light district complain that there is 
insufficient follow-up to criminal complaints received from 
prostitutes and passed on to the vice squad. 
 
¶19. (SBU) Comment. Dutch officials have consistently 
maintained that the lifting of the ban on brothels in 2000 
was intended as a tool to fight trafficking in persons in 
the prostitution sector.  While government, police and NGO 
contacts acknowledged that the regulated sector is not 
completely free of trafficking victims, there was consensus, 
even among those critical of police controls, that the 
controls had resulted in the reduction of overall 
criminality, and in the number of trafficking victims in 
that sector.  None suggested that the legalization of 
prostitution had led to any measurable increase in the 
number of TIP victims or prostitutes in the country.  End 
Comment. 
 
Arnall